Infighting in GOP Follows Scuttling of Storm-Aid Vote

By

Andrew Grossman

Updated Jan. 2, 2013 7:03 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—House Speaker John Boehner's surprise move to cancel a vote on a $60 billion package meant to help Northeastern states rebuild after superstorm Sandy set off an explosion of Republican infighting Wednesday that ended only when the speaker agreed to bring the measure to the floor in mid-January.

ENLARGE

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Speaker Boehner and the House majority were to blame for Sandy victims' continued suffering.
New Jersey Governor's Office/Associated Press

Mr. Boehner, an Ohio Republican, had infuriated Northeastern lawmakers and governors from both parties late Tuesday by deciding to hold off on a vote on the aid package until after the new Congress is sworn in Thursday—potentially pushing it into late January or February.

Rep. Peter King (R., N.Y.) said the move betrayed the people of New York and New Jersey and that local donors—a consistent source of campaign contributions for the GOP—would now be "crazy" to donate to the party. Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey pointed his finger directly at Mr. Boehner in a blistering news conference, saying he and the House majority were to blame for the continued suffering of Sandy victims.

In a fiery press conference, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie blasted the House Republican caucus and House Speaker Republican John Boehner for not bringing a vote on the Superstorm Sandy emergency relief bill. Photo: AP Images.

"Shame on you, shame on Congress," Mr. Christie said. "Put aside the politics and help our people now."

Asked whether he would campaign against lawmakers who blocked the measure, Mr. Christie said: "We'll see. Primaries are an ugly thing."

The Senate had approved the aid package last week, and President Barack Obama was expected to sign it.

Lawmakers including Mr. King, whose Long Island, N.Y., district was hit hard by the storm, said they had been assured that the aid package would come to the House floor late Tuesday or Wednesday.

But after the House passed the fiscal-cliff compromise late Tuesday, Mr. Boehner's office began telling members that no more votes would be held in the lame-duck Congress. Mr. Boehner later told lawmakers that the controversy surrounding Tuesday's fiscal-cliff vote had made it an improper time to bring up the Sandy bill.

The aid package had drawn opposition from many Republicans, who said it was too large and lacked the necessary oversight to ensure the funds would be spent properly. The money was slated to go largely to efforts such as rebuilding the region's mass transit network, repairing housing and replenishing the funds used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for grants to victims.

Other lawmakers, especially Democrats and Northeasterners from both parties, said the relief package was desperately needed and in line with Congress's response to previous natural disasters. Earlier aid packages, they said, were passed within a few weeks of the incidents. Sandy hit the Northeast at the end of October.

Amid the outburst of anger from Northeasterners of both parties, it was rage against Mr. Boehner from prominent GOP figures that was most striking.

"You don't play games with this. Apparently, that was ripped out of the House leadership manual last night," Mr. Christie said, adding that he called Mr. Boehner four times Tuesday night but got no answer.

The White House told reporters Wednesday that Mr. Obama spoke personally with Mr. Christie, a reminder to some of their partnership on Sandy response efforts just before November's election, which had needled some in the GOP.

Wednesday afternoon, Republicans from New York and New Jersey headed to a meeting with Mr. Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.) in the Capitol. Inside, Mr. Boehner told them that he would bring a measure to the floor Friday that would expand the National Flood Insurance Program's borrowing authority by $9 billion, allowing it to keep paying out claims. Then, on Jan. 15—the first day possible—the House will vote on the remaining $51 billion that had been in the package, the GOP leader said.

That appeared to satisfy House members from New York and New Jersey. They described the meeting as cordial and accepted Mr. Boehner's explanation for why he had called off the vote. House members now expect the aid package to win enough votes for passage.

"It was a horrendous day with some horrific votes that a lot of our conference was very unhappy with," said Rep. Michael Grimm (R., N.Y.), while calling the move indefensible. "I think that the speaker just felt that it wasn't fair to the conference."

Mr. Grimm, whose Staten Island district was devastated by Sandy, was among the last to emerge from the meeting. He said he stayed behind to shake hands with Messrs. Boehner and Cantor and look them in the eye to make sure he had their commitment.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.